Unwinnable

I’m the kind of person that goes out of his way to avoid advertising. Ever since Mad Men, there’s been a trend towards looking at advertising as something akin to art – a way for the creative to cash in and still ply their trade. That’s mostly bullshit. Advertising cheapens everything. It is why there’s nothing good on television. Ratings, essentially the number of eyeballs advertisers will reach when they sponsor a particular show, ensure that only the most inoffensive pablum sees airtime. Advertising is why movies stink so bad. Studios spent the cost of their film over again just to trick audiences to show up to theaters. They’ve learned not to make movies that are difficult to sell. (more…)

It may be Valentine’s Day, but there is no love here for Activision’s Guitar Hero franchise. Last week, the series that made rhythm games and plastic guitars a worldwide sensation was axed (pun intended, sadly). This followed the recent news that publisher MTV Games was shuttering after selling off Rock Band developer Harmonix, which in turn followed the news that Power Gig: Rise of the SixString sucked incredibly hard. Does all this mean that the rhythm game has joined punk rock, rockabilly, grunge and hair metal in the musical afterlife? Unwinnable sounds off: (more…)

For the last 10 years I’ve put together a compilation of odd and interesting takes on traditional holiday songs. Its name is Twisted X-mas and in honor of it, I thought I would cull all my mix tapes, CD’s and hard drives to come up with the ultimate Top 10 of strange Christmas oddities. (more…)

As popular music games such as Power Gig and Guitar Hero are making waves with recent releases, one company decided to go back to the drawing board, re-creating their game for the serious musician. Harmonix Studios has decided to revamp Rock Band - its already addicting style of guitar/drum rhythm game – and really focus on being a whole band. Aptly titled Rock Band: Band, the game will be released later this month with a few new and inspiring changes. Finally gamers can experience what it’s like to actually get off their asses and start a real band. “How we wanted to present the game to our customers is something we think is really special; it’s nothing like you have ever seen or owned before,” says lead designer Dan Bennet. Packaged in a used 1994 Dodge Econoline van, the game will cost approximately $850 including instruments.  To add to the experience, each van is packed as poorly as possible. Bennet explains, “We really didn’t focus on putting the shit in there all nice and organized. To be honest we kinda just threw it in the back and said fuck it.”  (more…)

My dad used to tell me that videogames were a plot from the Japanese to fatten up and dumb down kids that live in America. Being that I was a big fan of The Last Starfighter, however, I believed my videogame playing had a higher purpose.

Can you actually learn something from video games?

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Tonight, against my better judgment, I went to the Activision Preview Event at the Staples center. I watched in something akin to awe as scantily clad dancers danced, DJs spun and a whole host of performers were trotted out on stage to sing the praises of the videogame company that makes the most money by making the worst games.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against the spectacle – it was a bloated, improbable affair, but it was still entertaining. (more…)